I'm watching Julia on HBO and thinking how much cooking has affected my life in recent years. In my married years - the years that blurred past in a tumultuous, unhappy, upheaval - I never cooked. My then husband proclaimed nightly how he *loves* to cook, and I was more than happy to believe.
Of course, that wasn't the full truth. A more accurate sentence of marriage has yet to be scribed.
Now, in my own town, in my own house, my own life, I cook most nights. I subscripe to Bon Appetit magezine, print AND online!, I watch Milk House on PBS, and I spend my nights watching Julia.
I love Julia Child. I love that she seemed awkward, like me. But unlike me, maybe she learned to accept that height and voice and humor at an earlier age than I ever could fathom. I think about how people prior to 1980 all seemed so thin. We joke that it was the cocaine years, the "mother's little helper" years. But maybe? Maybe it was because nobody really recognized the importance of food, sharing a meal, spending time and seasoning, and creating an experience to share with your most dear. People prior to Julia Child were skinny because they were making cookbooks based around a jello mold. Nobody has ever eaten a jello mold. So, they remained skinny.
The French? I can't account for them. All that butter. Outliers, the lot of them.
Julia was a pioneer, not just for cooks, but for women. To be oneself, no apologies. To show people you love them by feeding them a shortbread savory pie.
It makes sense that I'm learning to love cooking. I love all of the expressive arts, so long as I can keep them to myself. I sing in the shower, I play piano when nobody is around to hear, I knit just about every clothing item I can think of, I paint, I arrange flowers, I decorate. And now I cook. A Renaissance Woman, minus the need to please a man. I will take my skills and be a friend to keep, a mom to adore, and a woman who stands tall. I will wear heels and glory in my height. I will serve a galette with no apologies.
Tonight, I had steak tips and no desire to grill. So, I chopped them into double-bite-size pieces, and seared them in a pan. Set them into a plate to enjoy their juices, and in the same pan, I sauteed an entire cut up onion and some garlic baked potato bites that I didn't feel were cooked through enough for Christmas feasting. I had a couple cups left, so I threw them into the flavored oil along with the onions. On medium to medium high, I stirred those two ingredients about for 7-8 minutes, I added a little sea salt and a healthy dose of black pepper. While they continued to cook, I chopped up three large cloves of garlic, and threw those in. Added some ginger powder. Chopped up some about to go bad grape tomatoes. August wouldn't deign to eat them and all their wrinkles, so I chopped each one in half and threw them into the mix. More salt and pepper. Now we add the steak tips back in and let all the juices mix together. Lastly, a splash of apple cider vinegar to make it all sing in harmony, then off the fire and into a plate.
It was delicious. Bon Appetit.
